The Crime Victims Assistance Grant Program is a result of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 12, 1984. The Act created the Crime Victims Fund which is financed through fines and assessments on criminals at the federal level. No tax dollars go into the Fund.

VOCA Assistance Grants are dispersed through the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice and are awarded to each state and several territories based on a specific formula. States are then responsible for subgranting the money to approved applicants in order to help finance their crime victim service programs. Applicants may include non-profit agencies, state and local government agencies, and American Indian Tribes. The District Attorneys Council is the State Administering Agency (SAA) for the VOCA Grant.

In Oklahoma, a nine-member Victims of Crime Act Board makes the funding decisions. Click here for a list of the current board members.VOCA funds are awarded yearly on a competitive basis. Pursuant to the Victims of Crime Act, the VOCA Board must give priority to applicants serving victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and unserved/underserved victims. Federal regulations require that each of these service areas receive a minimum of 10% of the total grant funds.

December 15, 2016: Application notices are mailed to current subgrantees, District Attorneys Offices, Police Departments, Sheriffs Offices, Native American Tribes, and any other agencies that have requested to be placed on the mailing list.

December 15, 2016 - March 3, 2017: The grant is open in OKGrants for Application with a due date of 3/3/2017 by 11:59 p.m.

August 2-3, 2017: The 9-member VOCA Board will meet August 2-3, 2017. New applicants, those having a VOCA grant for two years or less, and those subrecipients with significant issues or findings are asked to appear in person. All other applicants are asked to participate during a designated time for a conference call.

August or September 2017 (TBA): Two financial training webinars will be held at the DAC headquarters. These webinars are mandatory for first time subgrantees and is offered as a refresher course for existing subgrantees.

October 1, 2017 - September 30, 2018: Grant projects will be under way.